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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

Vancouver Whitecaps' Camilo Sanvezzo, right, of Brazil, reacts as he's tackled by Portland Timbers' Hanyer Mosquera, of Colombia, during the first half.

Photograph by: Darryl Dyck
, PNG

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Whitecaps made Major League Soccer history Sunday by becoming the first Canadian team to make the playoffs.

But they backed into post-season play by losing. Not exactly plan A.

Judging by their efforts in a 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers at BC Place, the Caps will need a major turnaround to give the the powerhouse L.A. Galaxy a strong test in a one-game playoff match in Los Angeles on Nov. 1.

The Whitecaps made the playoffs because the Seattle Sounders beat FC Dallas 3-1, eliminating the Texas squad's post-season aspirations and giving the final Western Conference playoff spot to Vancouver.

Vancouver supporters who stayed late at BC Place to watch the Seattle/Dallas match on television were thrilled with the result at CenutryLink Field but couldn't have liked what they saw in Vancouver.

The second straight 1-0 home loss to Portland in the month of October wasn't pretty.

With a chance to beat the Timbers and control their own destiny, the Whitecaps couldn't kill the Cascadia curse and rarely looked like they would.

Vancouver has never beaten Portland or Seattle in MLS play, with Sunday's match being their 10th game against a Cascadia rival the past two seasons.

Timbers veteran captain Jack Jewsbury reinforced the notion of the curse when he took a Franck Songo'o pass and blasted a 30-yard strike past Caps goalkeeper Brad Knighton in the 39th minute.

The “wonder goal” – as Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie called it – came during a sloppy first half of play that failed to excite 21,000 fans anxious to cheer on a Caps squad looking for a historic win.

Rennie couldn't explain his team's ineffective play against a struggling Timbers side that hadn't won on the road all season.

“That's frustrating because you feel the team is just about where you want it to be and you put together a performance like that,” he said. “We let a lot of people down today.”

Rennie felt his team played a lot of long-ball soccer, which played into Portland's strength.

But he doubts the loss will kill the Whitecaps' momentum as they enter the playoffs. The club was unbeaten in three games heading into the Portland match.

“The main thing is getting into the playoffs and then it's one-off games and it's up to you how you perform in those games,” Rennie said.

Caps striker Kenny Miller said his team clearly missed a spark against Portland and shrugged his shoulders when asked why.

“We got ourselves up for this game but some reason, I don't think we even started at all tonight,” he said. “There seemed to be something missing. We seemed to miss the willingness or desire to create something or get on the end of something.

“A spark was definitely missing, which is disappointing considering the magnitude of the game.”

Caps defender Jordan Harvey, who played effectively at left back, said he obvsioulsy wanted to beat Portland but doesn't care how the Whitecaps made the playoffs.

“It doesn't matter how we get in, as long as we get in,” he said.

Rennie's starting lineup featured a two-striker tandem of Miller and Camilo Sanvezzo but the team's best scoring chance came from Timbers defender Steven Smith, who sent a backpass that forced goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to make an awkward reaction save.

Whitecaps speedsters Dane Richards and Darren Mattocks came on in the second half, along with winger Omar Salgado, but the Caps attack floundered.

The victory gave the Timbers the Cascadia Cup, respresenting superiority in MLS games this season involving Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.

The Whitecaps face a daunting task in Los Angeles, where they have never scored a goal against the Galaxy – losing 3-0 there last year and dropping 3-0 and 2-0 decisions at the Home Depot Center this year.

The winner of the one-game playoff will face the San Jose Earthquakes in a two-game conference semi-final.

Rennie said the Whitecaps have already achieved a lot this season – making the playoffs just one year after finishing last in MLS in their debut season.

“As disappointed as we are tonight, we have done well over the course of the season,” he said, noting many well-established MLS teams failed to qualify for the playoffs this year. “We have made a first step as a club to do something significant.”

Rennie said the Whitecaps will obviously be underdogs against the Galaxy but stressed anything can happen in a one-game playoff.

“A lot of times the team that fights and scrapes its way into the playoffs can be dangerous and hard to play against,” he said.

SIDE KICKS: Caps defender Young-Pyo Lee was named the team MVP this season in a pre-game ceremony. Mattocks (most promising player), Jun Marques Davidson (unsung hero) and Salgado (humanitarian of the year) were also honoured.

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